Choen considered himself a twisted individual with unique tastes—a real deviant.
But facing Yize now, he felt his own “perversion” was as pure as a blank sheet of paper!
This guy wasn’t just absurdly strong; his style of doing things was tinged with an indescribable malice and — a bizarre sense of humor!
Being cautious was one thing, but why did he have to drag him into this eerie small grove? And why was he letting out a “*Jie jie jie*” cackle in a sweet, feminine voice he’d gotten from who-knows-where?
The imagery was so vivid that Horn didn’t dare think about it too deeply. He felt a chill shoot straight to his skull, more terrifying than the beating he’d just received.
“You… what exactly do you want?!”
Horn squeezed the words from his throat through clenched teeth, his voice trembling in a way even he didn’t notice.
He no longer cared whether Yize was human or not; he only cared about how this psychopath intended to “play” him to death.
Yize nodded with satisfaction. Well, the villainous lines required by the System were finished. The process was complete, and now it was time for the real business — killing this bat spirit who had disturbed his peaceful life.
However, before killing him, and in the spirit of recycling waste… no, the principle of making the most of everything, Yize felt he could pry some intelligence out of him first.
“Hey, bat spirit, I have a few questions for you.”
Yize used that sweet, feminine voice to speak blunt words. “Answer me properly, and I might consider… letting you die more quickly.”
He intentionally elongated his tone, speaking with a nearly mocking cadence.
As soon as he finished, without giving Horn any chance to think or bargain, Yize punched him squarely in the abdomen!
“Ah!”
Horn curled up in pain, his internal organs feeling as if they had shifted once more. The moment he opened his mouth to cry out in pain, Yize’s hand moved like lightning. The stopper of a small crystal bottle popped open, and the colorless, odorless liquid inside was poured precisely down Horn’s throat.
*Gulp…*
Horn had no time to resist before the liquid slid down.
He clutched his throat in horror and asked hoarsely, “What… what did you just give me to drink?!”
A terrible premonition washed over him.
Yize clapped his hands, his tone light. “Nothing much. Just a Magic Potion I tinkered with in my spare time. As for the name… ‘Obedience Water.'”
“I’ll just use you to test the effects and see if it works on a Blood Race member of your level.”
“Obedience Water?!”
The name sounded incredibly improper!
Alarm bells rang in Horn’s mind. He desperately tried to circulate his blood energy to force the potion out, only to find that it had already rapidly merged into his bloodstream.
Soon, an abnormal heat rose from within his body, quickly spreading to his limbs and bones.
Within just a few breaths, two strange flushes of crimson uncontrollably appeared on Horn’s deathly pale face.
As a member of the Blood Race, his desires were primarily dominated and simplified by the craving for blood; other physiological needs were suppressed to the limit.
But now… he could clearly feel a certain strange and intense urge?!
“This… this is impossible! What kind of hellish thing did you give me?! Our Blood Race Constitution…”
This simply overturned his understanding of his own race!
Looking at his state, Yize explained quite honestly, “I told you, it’s ‘Obedience Water.’ The effect is to make the consumer follow my every word. See? Isn’t it starting to work?”
Combining the current environment of the remote small grove, Yize’s unfathomable and perverted personality, the highly suspicious name and effects of the potion, and his own body’s shameful reaction — Horn’s thoughts uncontrollably slid toward a terrifying abyss!
“You… don’t come any closer!”
Horn completely panicked. He used both hands to shield his buttocks tightly, looking like a young girl about to be violated. He glared at Yize with terrified eyes while scrambling backward on the ground with his hands and feet, desperately trying to get away from this demon.
The scene was highly impactful — a Level 4 Blood Race member who had just been arrogant and had unleashed his Blood Awakening form was now squirming backward on the ground, his eyes full of despair and fear as he looked at Yize.
Even Yize felt the scene was a bit too abstract and ridiculous.
However, the effects of the Obedience Water were overbearing. Soon, they completely overwhelmed Horn’s will like a tide.
The fear of Yize in his eyes was gradually replaced by a blurred, longing, and even slightly fawning expression…
His body, no longer under his control, began to crawl toward Yize, while meaningless whimpers escaped his throat.
“Tsk, how disgusting.”
With a look of disgust, Yize unhesitatingly raised his foot and firmly stepped on Horn’s chest, pinning him to the ground to prevent him from doing anything more eyesore-inducing.
“It seems your Blood Race resistance isn’t that great after all. The effect is quite potent.”
He cleared his throat and began the interrogation. “First question. You said earlier that you were ranked fifth. What ranking is that? Be specific.”
Horn’s eyes were hazy as he looked up at Yize, answering obediently with a panting tone, “It is… the internal hierarchy… established by us of the Blood Race… Level 4 members… are known as ‘Blood Pillars’… There are only ten… at this level… My strength… is ranked fifth among them…”
“Then what does your current strength translate to in terms of Magical Beast levels? Are you at the Lord Class?”
“Lord Class… far beyond that…”
Horn chuckled foolishly, his tone even carrying a hint of boasting.
“After I release my Blood Awakening… my strength has already… reached the threshold of a Special A-Rank Demon Lord Seed…”
“A Special A-Rank Demon Lord Seed?!”
Hearing this, Yize almost tripped.
He looked down at Horn, who was pinned under his foot and completely unable to resist, then thought about the one-sided crushing battle just now. His face was practically screaming, ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’
He kicked Horn again in annoyance. “Are you pretending with me?! A pathetic loser like you is a Demon Lord Seed? Then what am I? A True Demon Lord?”
Horn let out a muffled groan from the kick but still looked at Yize with infatuation, defending himself pitifully. “I… how could I know what kind of noble existence you are… but… what I said is the truth… I wouldn’t dare deceive you…”
Horn’s heart was bitter, but he was even more horrified to find that under the influence of this potion, he couldn’t lie at all. He couldn’t even control his urge to answer the questions!
A terrifying thought flashed through his mind — could the bizarre self-destruction of Heart back then have been because he fell into Yize’s hands, was forced to drink this terrible potion, and then violated the taboo in his bloodline?
Seeing that Horn didn’t look like he was faking, and feeling that the guy under his foot was indeed weak enough, Yize also began to have doubts.
‘Wait… is he telling the truth? Does this weakling really have the strength of a Demon Lord Seed? If that’s the case…’
He awkwardly moved his foot slightly, though he still kept the pressure on, and continued, “Then I’ll change the question. Your Blood Race has been hidden for so many years. Why?”
Hearing this question, the remnants of Horn’s sanity let out a howl of despair!
He knew that once he answered and touched upon the Core Secret, what awaited him would be the total eruption of the bloodline restriction, leading to the complete destruction of his body and soul!
He desperately tried to grit his teeth and mobilize his blood energy to shock his brain into unconsciousness…
But under the absolute power of the Obedience Water, his mouth seemed to have a will of its own. It opened uncontrollably, and he began to reveal the truth in fragments.
“We… our reawakening and activity… are because… because we felt the ‘Dragon’s’…”
The moment the word “Dragon” left his mouth, a sudden change occurred!
Horn’s body violently convulsed. Countless twisted, flickering dark red runes surfaced beneath his skin, and terrifying energy began to pour wildly from every one of his pores!
His body expanded rapidly like a balloon, his eyes bulging and filled with extreme pain and fear!
“No — !!!”
He let out one last shrill, unwilling scream.
In the next instant —
*BOOM!!!*
An earth-shattering explosion, far exceeding any previous collision, erupted violently with Horn’s position at the center!
The self-destruction of a Special A-Rank Demon Lord Seed possessed a level of power that could be called world-ending!
The violent blood-colored energy, mixed with a destructive shockwave, swept in all directions like a tsunami!
Trees and rocks within a radius of hundreds of meters were completely annihilated the moment they touched this power! The ground was forcefully shaved down by a layer, leaving behind a shocking, massive charred pit!
Yize, standing at the very center of the explosion, only felt a hot blast hit his face. His clothes… hm?
He looked down and saw that his precious [Misty Shadow Cloak] had actually been ruined by the impact of the explosion!
“Damn it!” Yize shouted in heartbreak. “How is the power of this bat spirit’s self-destruction so strong?! My legendary stealth gear!”
But after shouting, he froze.
He realized that aside from his damaged clothes and ruined stealth cloak… there didn’t seem to be a single injury on his body?
That terrifying force, capable of leveling mountain peaks, had acted upon him as if… as if someone had just bumped into him?
He stood in place, touching his unharmed skin, and then looked at the surrounding scene, which appeared as if it had been struck by a meteorite. A ridiculous yet incredibly real thought struck his mind like a lightning bolt.
‘Could it be… that I’m… actually really strong?’
At the very least, his physical toughness had definitely reached the level of a Demon Lord Seed — perhaps even beyond that?
In that case, that silver-haired, red-eyed Blood Race loli who called herself Vivian back in that dungeon… she was able to exchange blows with him and even walk away peacefully after he smacked her buttocks…
Her true identity, could it really be…
“Holy crap! The Queen of the Bloodkin?!”
Yize gasped, feeling his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.
He had actually provoked an existence that seemed like a max-level final boss back in the starting village? He had even done… that kind of thing to her?!
If not for his constitution and defense, which had been buffed to a perverse degree by the System, he would have died a long time ago, right?
“As expected… I’m still not cautious enough!” Yize reflected with deep regret, feeling lingering fear.
Just then, the anxious shouts and rapidly approaching footsteps of Sara and the others could be heard from a distance.
Clearly, the earth-shattering explosion had drawn all of them here.
Yize panicked. The [Misty Shadow Cloak] was destroyed, and the surrounding area had been cleared by the explosion; there wasn’t even a shrub to hide in!
If Sara and the others saw him here, wouldn’t his identity be exposed?
“I’m doomed, I’m doomed, I’m doomed!”
Yize paced around in a panic. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.
“Right! The teleportation array!”
He immediately crouched down and hurriedly began to activate the coordinates of the magic teleportation array he had left in a hidden corner of the Inner City.
Fortunately, he had a habit of leaving a backup plan!
Just as Sara and the others were about to appear at the edge of the horizon, the magic array beneath Yize’s feet finally lit up with a faint glow.
Space distorted, and his figure vanished from the spot with a *whoosh*, leaving behind only a shallow charred pit and mana ripples that had not yet fully settled in the air.
He didn’t even have time to check if Horn had dropped any loot after self-destructing.
***
On the other side, Rose had long since been subdued by the combined efforts of Dio, Swan, Sara, and Emma.
She fell to the ground in dejection, her eyes filled with resentment.
However, the deafening explosion and the pillar of energy rising into the sky in the distance immediately caught everyone’s attention.
“That senior…” Sara looked toward the direction of the explosion, her face filled with worry. “She faced that powerful Blood Race member alone just to save us… We can’t leave her behind!”
This suggestion was met with unanimous agreement.
Whether out of obligation or logic, they couldn’t just ignore their savior.
However, when they rushed to the explosion site, they only saw that the mysterious dark figure and Horn had both vanished without a trace.
“Was this… caused by the battle between that senior and the Blood Race member?” Emma covered her small mouth, her eyes filled with shock.
Just then, the urgent and excited voice of Iguneel echoed in Swan’s mind:
‘Swan! Quick! Go forward! Go to the center of the explosion! I… I can feel it! There’s the aura of a part of my lost remains there! It’s very clear!’
Swan’s heart jolted, and she immediately followed the instructions, quickly walking toward the center of the massive charred pit.
She searched carefully through the ash-filled bottom. Soon, several black Dragon Scales shimmering with a dark luster and a section of a twisted Dragon Claw caught her eye.
‘These are the ones!’
Iguneel’s voice carried an uncontrollable tremble.
Swan bent down and carefully picked up the few Dragon Scales and the claw.
The moment her fingertips touched the cold remains —
“Waaaaah — !!!”
Iguneel actually erupted into a deafening wail of endless sorrow and despair within her mind!
“It’s over! It’s all over!!”
Iguneel cried heartrendingly, her soul waves fluctuating violently.
“I… I can feel the essence drained from these remains… Uwahhhh…”